Renting in Uruguay: the garantía decides which contract you get
Anyone renting in Uruguay has to offer the landlord a guarantee, or opts for a contract without a guarantee under the 2020 law. With a guarantee the old rental law applies, Ley 14.219: at least two years and a deposit of at most five months' rent, to be paid into the Banco Hipotecario. Without a guarantee you agree everything freely, but at the end you are out of your home within thirty days of the judgment.
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Renting a home in Uruguay starts with one question from the landlord: which garantía do you offer? The answer decides which law your contract falls under. With a guarantee the 1974 rental law applies, Decreto-Ley 14.219: a contract of at least two years and a deposit of at most five months' rent, which must be held by the Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay (BHU). Without any guarantee, since Ley 19.889 of 2020 you can agree almost everything freely, but the protection is smaller.
For a newcomer this counts twice. The state guarantee requires work in Uruguay, which leaves a cash deposit and a contract without a guarantee.
| With a guarantee (Ley 14.219) | Without a guarantee (Ley 19.889) | |
|---|---|---|
| Term | at least 2 years; a shorter term only counts in your favour | freely agreed |
| At the end | automatically a one-year extension if you stay | extended by the same term, unless a party gives notice 30 days before |
| After that | the landlord can seek eviction, with a one-year period | eviction 30 days after the court's decision |
| Deposit | at most 5 months' rent, within 15 days at the BHU | no guarantee of any kind |
| Currency | the law names pesos | pesos, foreign currency, UR or UI |
| Paying in advance | at most one month | |
| Indexation | every 12 months with the statutory coefficient | what you agree; otherwise yearly by inflation (IPC) for rent in pesos |
Which guarantees are there?
The law names two: a cash deposit or a personal guarantee, someone who vouches for you. Then there is the state. The guarantee of the Contaduría General de la Nación (CGN) exists among others for BPS pensioners, civil servants and employees of companies with an agreement. The housing ministry has a fund, the FGA, with a separate variant for foreigners.
With only a Dutch pension you do not qualify for it. It asks for a net household income between 15 and 100 unidades reajustables (UR), of which the minimum must be formal employment income, and more than three months of continuous work. The state guarantees a rent of at most 18 UR.
How does the deposit work?
Article 38 of the rental law is strict. For a home, a landlord or agent may ask no more than five months' rent as a guarantee. The money goes to the BHU, the state housing bank that holds all rental deposits centrally, within 15 days of signing. If the rent rises, the landlord may ask you to top up the deposit; you may do that in ten equal monthly instalments.
Do not hand the deposit in cash to the landlord or the agent. The law requires it to be paid into the BHU, and anyone who keeps a deposit risks a fine of one to five times the amount. Ask for proof of the payment and keep it until you have handed in the key.
What does a contract without a guarantee mean?
In articles 421 to 431, Ley 19.889 created its own scheme for residential rentals without a guarantee. It only applies if the contract meets five requirements: it is for living in, there is no guarantee at all for the landlord, the contract is in writing, term and price are stated explicitly, and both parties write that they submit to this law. If one is missing, the old rental law simply applies.
Within that scheme you pay the rent monthly in the first ten days, and the landlord may not ask for more than one month in advance. Costs such as water, electricity and the service charges (gastos comunes) are yours, unless agreed otherwise.
The downside is eviction. If the contract ends and the landlord wants you out, the court sets a period of 30 days after a short procedure. During the term he can only evict you if you do not pay, on expropriation or if the building is unsafe.
How do price and increases work?
Under the old law you fix the rent for the whole term, and you may agree steps per twelve months. Without an agreement the rent rises every twelve months by a coefficient that the government publishes. If an agreed step is higher than that coefficient, you may choose once to pay the coefficient from then on. You make that choice within fifteen days of the publication, by registered telegram.
Under the scheme without a guarantee you agree a method yourselves. If nothing is agreed and the rent is in pesos, it rises once a year with inflation.
What do you put on record?
Have the contract put on paper, even if little is at stake. For a contract without a guarantee that is a condition. Such a contract can be entered in the register; only then must a new owner respect it if the landlord sells the house.
If you want to buy later, renting for a few years first is a way to get to know the area; see buying a house in Uruguay. Put your passport number in the contract or, once you have it, the number of your Uruguayan card; see registration and numbers. An account for the rent is arranged through bank and payments. Where renting falls between arrival and registration is shown in the route to Uruguay.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Uruguay or go straight to step 5.7 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Decreto-Ley 14.219 — rental law, articles 3 to 5 (term and extension) and 38 (the deposit) (IMPO) — impo.com.uy
- Ley 19.889, article 421 — rental contracts without a guarantee, the conditions (IMPO) — impo.com.uy
- Ley 19.889, article 422 — free term, currency and indexation without a guarantee (IMPO) — impo.com.uy
- Ley 19.889, article 423 — registration, so that a new owner respects the contract (IMPO) — impo.com.uy
- Ley 19.889, article 430 — eviction within thirty days after the end (IMPO) — impo.com.uy
- Ministerio de Vivienda — the state guarantee FGA, also for foreigners, with the income requirements — gub.uy
- Contaduría General de la Nación — renting with the state guarantee — gub.uy
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